MasterCard to Offer Travel Gifts Worth Over $50,000 at Travel Fair

MasterCard International announced that it will be awarding over $50,000 in travel gifts of merchandise and prizes to its card members who use their MasterCard branded cards at the Malaysia Airline Travel Fair. This year the convention is to be held at the Mines International Exhibition & Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur. In 2004, more than 120,000 visitors attended the travel fair.

“As travel becomes increasingly part of our cardholders’ lifestyle, MasterCard’s continued participation within the travel sphere underscores our commitment in offering our cardholders the best in their holiday and travel experience,” Brunei Jim Cheah, vice president and senior country manager for MasterCard in Malaysia said in a statement.

The Mastercard gift give-away is structured on several spending levels, with the first level travel gift being a travel organiser. Larger Mastercard purchases will earn chances to win gifts including MAS Golden Holidays three-day/two-night free and easy package for two to Kota Kinabalu, Kuantan, Langkawi, Kuching, Penang or Terengganu and spending money. Cash gifts will also be awarded. Travel fairs are also scheduled to occur in Penang, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching.

Survey of Best Baby Gifts Released

A survey of the most popular baby gifts has recently been released. The list of baby gift items ranged from the very practical disposable diapers to a grinder for turning steamed vegetables into homemade baby food. Topping the list of most appreciated new baby gifts were diapers, wipes, burp cloths, blankets, terrycloth covers for changing-table pads, crib sheets, waterproof mattress pad for the crib, practical clothing in larger sizes, onesies, baby bathtub, diaper bag, front carrier or sling, vibrating bouncy seat, exersaucer, digital-camera and supplies, book or journal for recording baby milestones, board books such as "Goodnight Moon," "Guess How Much I Love You," Dr. Seuss, parenting magazine subscription, home-cooked meals, gift certificate for a housecleaning service, gifts for an older sibling who may be feeling left out by all the new-baby talk anything handmade such as quilts.

Gifts Retailer Lauches New Site for Valentine's Day

Giftnet2india recently announced that it successfully launched a new gift shopping b2b portal that offers custom designed gifts for all occasions and holidays. Giftnet2india explained that it has focused on designing inexpensive gift packages, including kids gifts, birthday gifts, wedding gifts, Valentine’s gift baskets, Christmas gift baskets and Father’s Day-Mother's Day gift ideas.

Specifically the types of products offered include flowers, chocolates, teddy bears, desserts, electronics, perfume gift packages, watches and jewelry. The online gift retailer also reports it offers a wide selection of free electronic greeting cards for all occasions. Giftnet2india.com is managed by Krishna Agencies.

Mall Operator Westcor Releases Top Valentines Day Gift Purchases

Spokesmen from mall operators, Westcor, recently reported the most sought after men's and women's gift ideas for Valentines Day. The list of top gifts for women included Godiva's Taste of Temptation boxed set, Things Remembered selection of personalized gifts (silver heart-shaped jewelry boxes), "Sleepless in Seattle," "Serendipity," "Chocolat" and "When Harry Met Sally" films, Victoria's Secret floor-length red silk robe, Coach wristlets, pouches that hold money, credit cards, keys and cell phone. At the top of the list for mens Valentine's Day gifts was L'Occitane men's shaving cream, aftershave balm and shower gel. The most popular childens gift idea was Build-a-Bear Workshop, teddy bears for Valentine's Day, with special magnetic paws to blow kisses.

Acer Computers Reports Valentines Day Incentive Program

Acer Computers recently announced they used the Valentine's Day holiday as an incentive program for its partners. Viewed as a novel approach in incentive based sales programs, the offer stated that partners would be eligible to earn points on three levels of scoring. Firstly, sales channel partners could earn backend points on notebooks as per the points program in the Acer current program. Secondly, they could earn Backend Enhancer points in the newly developed "TravelMate Centrino and Celeron Valentines Offer". And thirdly, they could receive "Booster" points-specific to the other newly launched program, TravelMate 2304NLC.

An Acer official stated, "This Valentine's Day we have introduced this unique offer for our channel partners to ensure that we can aggressively increase penetration in the notebook market. This scheme has been designed to motivate our existing channel partners and also encourage new entrants to help us grow our business significantly."

Modern Valentines Day Gifts More Popular Than Ever With Men

A recent gift industry survey of Yahoo! Shopping and Hallmark Gift Cards suggests men are more interested in receiving electronic gift gadgets such as iPods and digital cameras as gifts for Valentine's Day than traditional presents such as chocolates, flowers or cologne. Surprisingly, as spokesman Matt Heist of Yahoo! Shopping stated, nearly half of the men surveyed also indicated that they would like an "experience gift" such as a weekend getaway or dinner out.

Meanwhile, 25% of women surveyed suggested they were still interested in traditional Valentine's gifts such as flowers, jewelry or chocolate. A Hallmark spokeswoman for the survey specified that consumers should consider combining several romantic things together in both of the modern and traditional categories. For instance, instead of waiting until the evening on the holiday to celebrate, put a music CD, card and chocolates in your sweetheart's briefcase in the morning to start the day.

Wine Gains Momentum as a Valentine's Day Gift Idea

WINE MARKET COUNCIL PRESS RELEASE
According to the Wine Market Council and Merrill Research, 95% of wine drinkers surveyed thought that wine makes a perfect Valentine's day gift. "Valentine's Day is a wonderful time to surprise your sweetheart with the gift of wine," stated Andrea Immer Robinson, author of Everyday Dining with Wine and Great Wine Made Simple and host of "Simply Wine with Andrea Immer," on the Fine Living Network. "What could be more romantic than sharing a favorite wine or, better yet, experiencing a new wine together?"

To make it easy to find that perfect wine that says, "I love you," Immer Robinson suggests some Valentines Day gift ideas advice in selecting wine:

BEAUTIFUL BURGUNDIES: Wine aficionados consider French Burgundy to be one of the most seductive wines available. The reds are made from Pinot Noir grapes, the whites from the Chardonnay grape, and the vineyard names are also often the world's most romantic. They are expensive, but many would say worth the search. Look for alluring names like Meursault "Bouches Cheres" or Charmes, Chambolle-Musigny "Les Amoureuses" or Vosne-Romanee Les Beaux Monts.

SEDUCTIVE SPARKLERS: Bubbly is, of course, the ultimate romantic bottle to present as a special Valentine gift - but not just any bubbly. A beautiful rose brings both the taste and the color of romance to a sweetheart's glass.

PASSIONATE PAIRINGS: Make a Valentines gift a romantic duo of wine and a flavorful food partner from the same region. For Francophiles, give some Brin d'Amour cheese and a red Saint Amour wine from the Beaujolais region. From Italy, olive oil infused with white truffles and a bottle of red Dolcetto wine. And from Spain, select a Fino sherry with Marcona almonds.

SWEET ENDINGS: Instead of a box of Valentine's Day chocolates, give a selection of sweet wines in half-bottles. Late harvest Riesling from Washington State, liqueur Muscat dessert wines from Australia, cream sherry from Spain or Muscat Beaumes de Venise from France are all excellent selections.

BOTTLES IN BLOOM: Instead of a bouquet of Valentine flowers consider floral-scented grapes such as Viognier, Gewurztraminer and Muscat.

Valentine's Day Gift Flowers Freshness Guarantee Launched by ProFlowers

With one of its most important holiday seasons almost here, ProFlowers is forecasting that its business model will prove profitable this Valentine's Day and account for a considerable portion of the $19 billion annual U.S. flower industry. Flowers, traditionally one of the most popular Valentine's Day gift ideas for many consumers, are predicted to once again rank among the Valentine gift leaders this year.

ProFlowers revealed that its model of delivery differs from most of its flower delivery competitors. "When considering a Valentine's Day gift, consumers should be aware that national wire services and local florists use an outdated business model that often results in the delivery of flowers that are less fresh, more expensive and unpredictable," President and COO of ProFlowers, Abe Wynperle stated. "ProFlowers connects consumers directly with flower growers and eliminating middlemen, extended stays in refrigerators and any potential surprises, so what you order is what gets delivered. If the farm doesn't have it, ProFlowers doesn't sell it."

As an extra incentive to entice consumers to choose ProFlowers as the Valentine's gift flower delivery service of choice, the company also announced a seven day freshness guarantee, a move it is capitalizing on due to a claim that its flowers are 5-9 days fresher than those available at a traditional local florist or through national wire services.

The official company statement, launched and marketed in time to reach consumers searching for Valentines Day gift flowers reads, "By connecting customers directly with the world's top growers, ProFlowers is able to deliver fresh, innovative arrangements usually within three days of the flowers being cut from the fields. Best of all, each gift is backed by a 7-day freshness money-back guarantee, so customers can be sure their gift will show how they really feel."

Pet Valentine's Day Gifts More Popular than Ever According to Study by APPMA

The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, the nation's leading not-for-profit trade organization serving the interests of the pet product industry and educating the public on the many joys and health benefits associated with pet ownership, announced that more pet owners are now choosing to include their pets as recipients of Valentine's Day Gifts. The APPMA forecasts that millions of pets will be receiving specialty cookies, heart-shaped beds, and even pink rhinestone sunglasses this Valentines Day.

According to a survey by the APPMA, more than nine million pets will receive a Valentine's gift from their owners. "With more people considering pets a member of the family, manufacturers are responding with products that resemble those for humans," public relations administrator for APPMA, Jennifer Bilbao said. "That means all the boxes of Valentine chocolates, cards and flowers that have traditionally lined store shelves this time of year are now sharing space with similar Valentine gifts for pets."

The APPMA has released a list of several leading pet gifts available for Valentine's Day. They include Canine Sweet Hearts and Canine Gourmet Cookies by Claudia's Canine Cuisine, Matching Human/Pet Sunglasses by Doggles, Fetch-It Pets' Valentine's Day Heart charms, the Achy-Breaky Heart, a large, heart-shaped Combat squeaker toy made by Bamboo, Fleece Bone and Fleece Buddy w/Squeaker by Planet Dog, heart-shaped dog beds and Paws of Endearment by Remember Me Products, which is a keepsake plaque with a place for a pet's photo and a bronze-like casting of his or her paw print.

Most Popular Valentine's Day Gifts List Released by CafePress.com

Leading online retailer CafePress.com, a website that hosts a network of nearly two million different theme based e-stores run by individuals, has issued a report summarizing the types of products its vendors are anticipating will be popular Valentine's Day gift ideas. It reports that people are moving away from traditional cards, flowers and chocolates and toward more unique options. "We've seen a shift in trends; now consumers are choosing Valentine's Day gifts that are personal and unpredictable," CafePress.com spokesperson Maheesh Jain said.

CafePress.com cited some of this year's most popular offerings. Among them are millions of customized products, ranging from t-shirts, mugs, teddy bears and stuffed animals to books and music. More specifically, its retailers are offering Valentine's Day gift ideas from romance-bashing sweatshirts to his-and-hers personalized boxer shorts and thongs. Sweatshirts and coffee mugs depicting phrases like "Vegetarians Make Better Lovers" and "I Love You Like a Fat Kid Loves Cake" are available. Valentines gifts for soldiers and military personel include a "Half of My Heart is in Iraq" teddy bear or a "Love By Email" mouse pad. CafePress.com even lists Valentine gifts for those spurned during the holiday with catchy slogans on t-shirts and teddy bears such as "Men R Pigs" or "Love Bites" Valentine greeting cards.

Survey Reveals Valentines Day Gift Lists for Both Men & Women

A recent national Valentines Day survey reveals greeting cards as the leader of both Valentine's Day gift giving lists and wish lists for men and women. Candy and flowers also rank just after Valentine's day cards as the top anticipated holiday gift purchases.

Results of the survey, in order of popularity, show that the top five Valentine's gifts men plan to give are Valentine cards, flowers, candy, jewelry and lingerie. Conversely, women ranked as their most anticipated Valentines gifts, ordered by most wished for, Valentine's Day cards, flowers, jewelry, candy and spa-personal care products.

The survey reports that women are planning to give cards, candy, flowers, cologne and watches or jewelry, ranked in order of popularity. Men, on the other hand, wish most for Valentine's Day cards, followed by candy, watches or jewelry, cologne and boxer shorts-underwear.

Survey Reveals Valentine Gift Spending Expected to Increase

A recent Shopping in America survey suggests that Valentines Gift giving is gaining significant momentum, continuing it's trend as a major holiday worldwide. A majority of those surveyed indicated that they will be spending more on Valentine's Gifts than last year.

The survey reveals that cunsumers plan to spend an average of $178.39 on related Valentine's Day gift purchases. This figure includes an average of $100.63 on Valentine gifts for 2.3 recipients, and an additional $77.76 on events such as movies, theater and dinner. 84.4% of those surveyed plan to spend the same or more money than they did in 2003.

The report states that men are planning to spend 33% more than women for Valentine's Day ($218.17 vs. $146.26, respectively). Broken down by age, those between 45 and 54 years old will spend the most on overall purchases ($198.77) and the youngest age group of consumers surveyed (12 - 17 years old) will spend the least amount on Valentine presents ($95.20).